Draco the Brave
by Coding Gengar
Summary: Drabble series of a Gryffindor Draco. Chapter 1: Check Mate.
1. Chapter 1

He would kill Potter. As soon as Weasley won them the endless chess match and Granger made sure they were okay with the silly healing charms he made her learn, _he would kill Potter_ for getting him into this mess.

"I'll sacrifice myself," said Weasley and both Potter and Granger were outraged and started complaining about Weasley's plan. Really, Potter's noble self would be the end of him one day.

"For Merlin's sake! Let him sacrifice himself!" Draco yelled at them, gaining Ron's indignant look and Potter's incredulous one. "Granger, other people can be smart too. Potter, it's his choice and if you want to stop Weasley, I won't stop _him_ from stopping _you_ from pursuing _this stupid quest_!"

His three friends stared at him as if he were the bloody Cerberus they just put to sleep (thanks to him,_ of course_).

"What?" he asked. "Weasley is obviously capable of taking a decision for himself, and if you're really his friends you should support him. And we really need to win and this is the fastest way."

Potter was the first to nod and turned to Ron. "I trust you, Ron," he said and looked at Hermione and Draco. "We trust you."

Weasley looked as if he had tears on his eyes and Draco chose to think it was because of the flying bits of chess pieces.

"Knight to E5," said Weasley.

His knight began to move, slowly and all too ominously. Draco wanted to stop the Queen that now faced Ron, but he couldn't. If he moved, his sacrifice would be in vain. Well, he might not like Weasley (that much), but he was a housemate and McGonagall had said Gryffindors needed to stay together. No matter what his father said.

The Queen hit Ron's knight and he fell, hitting his head hard against the marble chessboard. Potter and Granger screamed, and she almost moved but Potter stopped her.

"Draco, check the King," Potter told him and he advanced to the King, trying to conquer his fear and appear confident. Those dumb friends of his needed him strong.

"Check Mate."


	2. Chapter 2

The hospital wing was bubbling with incessant noise. Honestly, if this was the kind of care Madame Pomfrey gave her charges then Draco would complain to his father. Or to Mother, who already had a soft spot for Potter.

"You should go," he spat at the fidgeting Hufflepuff girls who had come with flowers and get well cards, and the hope of speaking with Potter _the Hero_.

Draco saw them leave, quirking an eyebrow when one of the girls made to come back to Harry's bed.

Once they were gone, Draco smirked.

"You look like a corpse, Potter," he told the other boy, who opened one eye to see if there was anyone else with them. "A quite awake corpse."

"Had you faced Voldemort, you would look worse than me, Malfoy."

Draco snorted, deciding that he would not dare to prove Potter wrong. He might be the first Malfoy in Gryffindor in more than three centuries, but that didn't mean he had no common sense.

"But thank you, anyways," Potter added as he sought his glasses on the bedside table. "Those two had been here for an hour already."

Draco snorted. "Bones and Abbott? They should know better."

He saw as Harry tried to get up and failed, grunting in pain.

"You should know better than to try and go on as if nothing happened," Draco half-advised nonchalantly. "You did defeat a Dark Lord for the second time in your life."

Draco heard Harry's sigh. It was natural to brag when defeating a great opponent, but it was also common sense to not to do it. Dumbledore had told everyone in Hogwarts about Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord, and it would bring Harry trouble. Naturally, the Ministry would not care, but it said something that Lucius had decided to break his self-imposed silence and ask Draco everything about the issue, from his own involvement to Harry's mysterious abilities.

"Are you alright, Malfoy?"

He glanced up and saw Harry's concerned face. He hesitated, not wanting to tell him the truth but not wanting to keep it inside him anymore. With a deep breath, he decided.

"I don't want to go back home," he said with his voice low as if the mere thought of what he said was blasphemy. Once, it had been.

Harry's eyes widened, surely because he hadn't expected Draco's openness.

"Hogwarts is home," Harry told him with a small smile. "We won't be going home. Not really."

The silence around them was only interrupted by Madame Pomfrey coming to tell Harry it was fine if he went to the feast. She had barely finished speaking when Harry already had his shoes on. Draco snorted at him, earning an annoyed glance and an elbow to the ribs that had no true force behind it.

They bickered all the way to the Great Hall, only stopping when Granger and Weasley came into view. The four of them got into the Great Hall, sitting in the middle of the table. Draco took in all that Hogwarts was, from the enchanted ceiling to the magnificent food the elves prepared. He would even miss chastising Weasley for his abominable manners, and debating with Granger about whether or not the elves liked to serve wizards. He would mostly miss Harry, though, because the boy understood him in a silent way, without having to speak to him.

He didn't care when Dumbledore awarded them two hundred points to beat Slytherin, and actually found it pretty prejudiced and unfair, but his friends were happy that they won, so Draco put on a smile and tossed his pointy hat into the air.

Yes, he would miss home when he went back to the manor.


End file.
